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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27461653">life makes love look hard (but this love is ours)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ttoast_toast/pseuds/ttoast_toast'>ttoast_toast</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff and Humor, How Do I Tag, Iwaizumi Hajime is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Minor Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, My First Work in This Fandom, Texting, but he tries his best</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:46:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,421</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27461653</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ttoast_toast/pseuds/ttoast_toast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Iwaizumi Hajime has been in love with one Oikawa Tooru for the entirety of all the years he’s known the other. This shouldn’t be a problem. And the fact itself is that it isn't, not really.</p><p>But here’s the thing: Hajime is kind of a brute. He knows this. He also knows that, after being in love with someone for your entire life, you should know how to go about it. And yet, here he is.</p><p>So maybe that’s why, on a late Tuesday night when he really should be studying, he finds himself on Twitter—of all places—asking the internet for advice.<br/>---<br/>(or: in which hajime asks for love advice and ends up learning a lot about what love even is in the first place.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>197</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>life makes love look hard (but this love is ours)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i have no idea what this is but hopefully it's half decent</p><p>this is my first time writing for haikyuu so forgive me if they're all slightly ooc,, i'll figure it out more as i go</p><p>title is from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRo30h5LuAk</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p3">Iwaizumi Hajime has been in love with one Oikawa Tooru for the entirety of all the years he’s known the other. This shouldn’t be a problem. And the fact itself is that it isn’t, not really.</p><p class="p3">But here’s the thing: Hajime is kind of a brute. He knows this. He knows you’re not supposed to hit your crush’s face with volleyballs or insult them any and every chance you get. He knows you’re not supposed to roll your eyes at them or smack the back of their head or give them pointed glares that have them shaking in their sneakers. He <em>knows</em> this.</p><p class="p3">He also knows that, after being in love with someone for your entire life, you <em>should</em> know how to go about it. And yet, here he is.</p><p class="p3">So maybe that’s why, on a late Tuesday night when he really should be studying, he finds himself on Twitter—of all places—asking the internet for advice.</p><p class="p3">A voice in the back of his head that sounds suspiciously like his mother tells him that no, this is probably the worst idea he’s ever had, go back to studying for that math quiz he has in a few days. The majority of his head, though, is telling him to <em>fuck</em> that math quiz because he needs help in how to actually be around your crush like a normal person.</p><p class="p3">His account isn’t complicated—his username a simple <em>godzilla4</em> and both his profile picture and bio blank. He’s not actually following anyone from school, either—he’d rather not have his feed completely swamped with photos and 2 AM thoughts.</p><p class="p3">He doesn’t even know what Tooru’s account is, he realizes, and half-considers asking him about it before remembering why he’s even on this app.</p><p class="p3">It’s not like he expects many people to answer, anyway. He’s sure that with the mass amounts of people on the app, his thread will get drowned in all of the well-put-together and interesting posts.</p><p class="p3">That doesn’t stop him from hitting the <em>submit</em> button, though.</p><p class="p3">It’s a pretty simple post<em>. </em>Reading over it, Hajime realizes that the description is rather vague, but he honestly can’t be bothered to add much more other than a straightforward <em>i have a crush on someone from school, but have no idea how to go about it. any advice?</em></p><p class="p3">(He feels kind of pathetic. You’d think that after being in love with someone for thirteen out of the seventeen years of your life you’d have some semblance of control over the situation. Hajime doesn’t. Not even a little bit.)</p><p class="p3">His eyes skim over his now-submitted post settling in on his otherwise empty account, and he pointedly turns off his phone before he gets sucked into the hole that is the internet. He goes to bed.</p><p class="p3">His math textbook glares at him from its place on his desk.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">Between school and volleyball, Hajime doesn’t have time to check if anyone answered his question, and it completely slips his mind until a few days later, when he’s looking down at a disappointed <em>67</em> written at the top of his math quiz and thinking to himself <em>what was I doing instead of studying?</em></p><p class="p3">(He then thinks: <em>oh.</em>)</p><p class="p3">So after a few more classes and a walk home (consisting of obnoxious cackling from Tooru that is also somehow simultaneously the best sound in the world), he finds himself lying on his bed and opening up his Twitter app.</p><p class="p3">He was right to expect that not many people would answer, the only comment under his post being from someone with a username of <em>aliensaliens720: oh, same here!! </em>٩(<span class="s2">◕</span><span class="s3">‿</span><span class="s2">◕</span><span class="s4">｡</span>)۶<em> we should cry over this together lmaoooo </em>(´• ω •`)</p><p class="p3">Sure enough, the little <em>2</em> flitting about at the corner of the messages symbol shows that the person had, in fact, DM’d him. Before checking that, though, he clicks on the little profile icon next to the comment (which, he notices dimly, is an aesthetic picture of milk bread) to check out the account. The person doesn’t actually have any tweets, and doesn’t seem to be following anyone, either. A glance at the bio only having the words <em>trash acc</em> explains why.</p><p class="p3">He taps at the messages icon at the bottom of his screen, opening up his DMs.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">(<span class="s5">⌒▽⌒</span>)<span class="s5">☆</span> <em>hi lol</em></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>this is probably pretty out of nowhere but i’ve been keeping this in for a while so its nice to see someone in a similar situation </em>( ´ <span class="s5">▽</span> ` )</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">He blinks at the screen, unsure how to respond. After a couple of seconds, he decides <em>fuck it</em>, he’ll just jump right to the point<em>.</em></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>uH yeah hi</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>have you asked them out yet?</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">Aliens (Hajime can’t believe that <em>that’s</em> what he’s dubbing the other) doesn’t make him wait too long. Not five minutes pass before his phone pings with a notification.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>no </em>( ╥ω╥ ) <em>there’s no way i would aaa</em></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>just thinking about it is unbelievable </em>(<span class="s4">｡╯︵╰｡</span>)</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>same here honestly</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>idk what to do</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">He chews his bottom lip, but then decides that internet anonymity truly is a gift in and of itself.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>like</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>i’ve known (liked) this kid pretty much my whole life so you’d think that i’d know how to go about this</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>but i’m legitimately so stumped</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>just keep doing what you’re doing? </em>┐(‘<span class="s5">～</span>`;)┌</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>ig the easiest way is just to ask them out lololol</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>but that’s probably a no? </em><span class="s6">∠</span>( <span class="s7">ᐛ</span> <span class="s5">」∠</span>)_</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">Hajime pauses. He’s thought about asking Tooru out more times than he can count, but he ends up backing out of each one. Not to mention that asking Tooru to hang out would be construed as literally just that: hanging out, and Hajime definitely can’t bring himself to say “no, like a date.” He thinks about how to put this into a text, and ends up just settling with:</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>he’s my best friend</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">He flushes a little bit. Him and Tooru’s relationship has never needed labels or definitions or sentiments—it just is what it is. It’s growing up with each other and fist bumps on the volleyball court and seeing each other at their worst but still sticking out despite that (or, maybe, because of that).</p><p class="p3">It’s just…<em>everything</em>. They’ve never put it into words—they’ve never needed to.</p><p class="p3">But even if it was never explicitly said or mentioned, Hajime knows. It’s simple and complicated all at once, but it’s them, and it’s right. They’re best friends, always have and always will be.</p><p class="p3">It’s not really something he can just explain, but Aliens seems to understand, anyway.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>ah yes i get that </em>o(<span class="s5">〒﹏〒</span>)o</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>the person i like is my best friend too</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>i feel like it makes it easier and harder at the same time</em> (<span class="s5">」＞＜</span>)<span class="s5">」</span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">He’s midway through typing out <em>damn what a coincidence </em>when he gets a text from Tooru. Clicking on the pop-up notification brings him to his messaging app, where Tooru, as always, has sent him a message with way more kaomojis than necessary. The corner of Hajime’s lips turn up as he reads it.</p><p class="p3">(He’s so fucking whipped it isn’t even funny anymore.)</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">─=≡Σ((( <span class="s5">つ＞＜</span>)<span class="s5">つ</span> <em>iwa-chan!! </em><span class="s5">ヾ</span>(<span class="s5">☆▽☆</span>)</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>what</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">Hajime groans, running a hand down his face. <em>This</em> is what he means. Who replies to their crush’s cutely sculpted text message with a single, bland word without even any punctuation? Who pretends to be annoyed with said crush’s mere existence for absolutely zero reason whatsoever? Aren’t you supposed to text them flustered heart emojis and exclamation marks and smiley faces or something?</p><p class="p3">Before he can brood on this any longer, another message from Tooru comes in:</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>there’s a new alien movie coming out next week </em>(<span class="s5">☆</span>ω<span class="s5">☆</span>)</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>oh my god let me guess</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>you’re gonna drag my ass to go see it the day before i have an exam</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>then make me stay up with you all night eating junk food while you ramble on about it</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>thus making me sleep-deprived the next day and absolutely slugging my way through all my classes</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">(„<span class="s8">ಡ</span>ω<span class="s8">ಡ</span>„)<em> iwa-chan it was one time!! </em>٩(<span class="s9">ఠ</span><span class="s5">益</span><span class="s9">ఠ</span>)۶</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>definitely won’t be the last i can tell you that much</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>iwa-chan pleaseeeeeeee </em>(<span class="s5">っ</span>˘̩<span class="s5">╭╮</span>˘̩)<span class="s5">っ</span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>no</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">(Maybe Hajime wants to see it too much. Watching Tooru as his jaw dropped at the movie probably sent Hajime’s heart spiralling into something akin to cardiac arrest. The night spent listening to Tooru enthusiastically rambling about the CGs and the editing with <em>literal stars</em> in his eyes made the exhaustion the next day more than worth it.)</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>iwa-chan come on </em>:( <em>i really wanna see it</em></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">Oh God, oh no, the kaomojis and the excessive punctuation and the whining have ceased—Tooru's actually discouraged, and that’s a complete <em>no</em> in Hajime’s book.</p><p class="p3">Hajime takes a deep breath and forces himself to answer how a normal person with a crush would.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>jfc fine</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">Or, as normally as he can, anyway. To be honest, Hajime doesn’t actually know <em>why</em> it’s so hard for him to be some semblance of nice, for him to say something without getting defensive or just plain rude. But Tooru understands anyway, like he always does, like he always has, and Hajime breathes a sigh of relief at the return of the kaomojis.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>iwa-chan!! </em><span class="s5">ヽ</span>(&gt;<span class="s6">∀</span>&lt;<span class="s5">☆</span>)<span class="s5">ノ</span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">Rolling his eyes, he shoots off the text to Aliens he had been meaning to send before Tooru’s interruption, then resolutely turns his phone off to <em>actually get some studying in this time</em>.</p><p class="p3">Right before the screen turns dark, though, a Twitter notification pops up:</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>it really is a coincidence, huh? </em>( <span class="s6">⊃</span> ´ <span class="s5">▽</span> ` )<span class="s6">⊃</span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">Aliens is fun to talk to, and although they first bond over the similarities in their crushing situations, Hajime finds that they actually have a lot in common. They both play volleyball (Aliens as a setter), they’re both in their last year of high school, and they both live relatively near Tokyo. Hajime entertains the possibility of being acquainted with Aliens personally, but the chance of spilling out his secrets and feelings to someone he <em>knows</em> is so completely horrifying that he dismisses the thought immediately.</p><p class="p3">At the same time, Hajime still has his problem. Seeing as he wasn’t able to get much advice from the internet (even if he did get himself someone to spill his pathetic pining to), he goes to one Matsukawa Issei for help. Not one of his brightest ideas, he can admit, but he’s so stumped he’s willing to try anything at this point. Also, Issei has somehow managed to snag a boyfriend, so he must know something about this, right?</p><p class="p3">He could turn to one Hanamaki Takahiro, too, but he deems that as an even worse idea.</p><p class="p3">Hajime brings up the topic one day during lunch. The other students in the classroom are milling about their own conversations, paying no attention to them, and Tooru and Takahiro have gone down to the vending machines to fetch some drinks. Hajime figures that this is about as good a time as any.</p><p class="p3">“Matsukawa.”</p><p class="p3">The boy in question turns to look at him from where he’s stuffing his mouth with rice, and makes various incomprehensible noises that conclude in what Hajime thinks might be a “<em>what do you want?</em>”</p><p class="p3">Hajime wrinkles his nose. “Dude, that’s nasty. Finish your food first.”</p><p class="p3">Issei chews, swallows, then asks much more clearly: “What do you want?”</p><p class="p3">“How are you supposed act around your crush?”</p><p class="p3">Issei stares at him.</p><p class="p3">“Is this about Oikawa?”</p><p class="p3">“…Not everything is about Oikawa,” Hajime says, a tad bit defensively. He honestly isn’t surprised that Issei had figured it out—after all, the boy was weirdly much more observant than people gave him credit for. Still.</p><p class="p3">“Yeah, but <em>this</em> is about Oikawa,” Issei shifts in his seat a little, turning to face him fully. “What do you mean ‘how are you supposed to act around your crush?’”</p><p class="p3">Hajime looks away from the questioning stare. “I mean, like, aren’t you supposed to be nice to them? Help them out? Maybe try and flirt with them a little?” He shuffles, a little embarrassed, “Not…whatever it is I do.”</p><p class="p3">Issei cocks a brow. “If you think for one second that you don’t help Oikawa out—”</p><p class="p3">“It’s not <em>that</em>, it’s—”</p><p class="p3">“Then what is it?”</p><p class="p3">Hajime pauses.</p><p class="p3">It’s far-fetched to say that Hajime doesn’t know Tooru needs him. They need each other, made abundantly clear time and time again whenever Hajime drags Tooru away from the court and for a break, whenever Hajime wallows in on himself and Tooru snaps him out of it, whenever they understand each other like no one else can. He’s seen the way people at school and in dramas treat their crushes—helping them carry their books, buying them milk from the vending machines, blushing whenever their crush so much as looks in their direction—but maybe that doesn’t have to be it. Maybe not everyone is like that. Maybe everyone experiences <em>love</em> differently.</p><p class="p3">Maybe, for Hajime, it’s hours after school, the warm sunlight disappearing over the horizon; what was supposed to be studying somehow ending up with two boys sprawled across each other playing Mario Kart. Maybe, for Hajime, it’s the squeak of sneakers against a gym floor, a perfect set slammed down onto the opposite side of the net by a perfect spike. Maybe, for Hajime, it’s years and years of feeling what he feels, and just doing what he’s been doing.</p><p class="p3">Maybe, for Hajime, it’s just <em>being</em>.</p><p class="p3">“When you have a crush on someone,” Issei starts again after their brief silence, “you might as well just do that, right? There’s no point in them liking you back if they’re liking back a false version of you. I know that ‘Hiro’s a walking meme, ‘Hiro knows that I’m a walking meme, but we still like each other anyway, despite that. Or maybe because of that.” He shrugs. “For us, it doesn’t really matter. We feel the way we do, so we just feel, and do.”</p><p class="p3">“…That was,” Hajime drifts off.</p><p class="p3">“Weirdly introspective, I know, I’m such a wise old man,” Issei grins and winks, effectively breaking the relatively serious discussion atmosphere. He pats Hajime on the back and goes back to his rice. “Don’t think about it too much, Iwaizumi. It’s like what they teach us about peer pressure: just because other people do something, doesn’t mean that you also have to do that something.”</p><p class="p3">Hajime opens his mouth to say something—exactly <em>what</em>, he’s not sure—but it’s at that moment that Tooru and Takahiro saunter back into the classroom, the former with a skip in his step and a lilt in his voice, and the latter calmly walking behind him, a lazy, amused smirk on his face, and whatever Hajime was going to say dies in his throat.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>iwa-chan </em>(^_−)<span class="s5">☆</span> ( <span class="s4">･</span><span class="s10">ิ</span> ͜ʖ <span class="s4">･</span><span class="s10">ิ</span>)</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>yeah yeah i know</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>next week!! it comes out next week!!! </em>C= C= C= C= C=┌(;<span class="s4">・</span>ω<span class="s4">・</span>)┘</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>i know</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>i checked the description and the trailers and the movie’s a love story? between a human and an alien??</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>YES</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>a forbidden love </em>(<span class="s2">◕</span><span class="s3">‿</span><span class="s2">◕</span>)<span class="s4">♡</span></p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s5">☆ｏ</span>(<span class="s5">＞＜；</span>)○<em> everyone else says they shouldn’t but they don’t care</em></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>love conquers all </em>(<span class="s4">ﾉ</span>´ з `)<span class="s5">ノ</span> <span class="s4">♡♡♡♡</span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>wait but imagine if it doesn’t have a happy ending and they don’t end up together in the end</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>omg</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>IWA-CHAN YOU SHOULD BE A SCREENWRITER</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">|д<span class="s4">･</span>)<em> volleyball practice is nOT GOOD FOR MY HEALTH </em>(*<span class="s5">￣</span>ii<span class="s5">￣</span>)</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>my godddd i’ve seen him as an ugly snotty nosed brat this sHOULD NOT BE AFFECTING ME </em>(oT-T)<span class="s5">尸</span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">*(&gt;д&lt;)*<span class="s4">ﾟﾟ</span><em>HE’S ALWAYS BEEN ATTRACTIVE BUT THIS IS JUST UNFAIR</em></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>i feel u lmao dude good luck</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>how about we shove them into a closet and force them to confess</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>not bad</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>but hopefully it won’t come down to that</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>why must you leave me here, just to suffer</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>o dear loved one, woe is me</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>tis all for thee, mine own loveth</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>tis not for me, tis for them!!</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>yeah true</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">The first thing that Hajime notices is just how excited Tooru is to go see this movie.</p><p class="p3">Hajime didn’t exactly think much of it, just that it might be interesting—seeing as though it was something different from the typical films that revolve around aliens. From next to him, though, Tooru can barely contain himself, nearly vibrating with elation. Hajime’s heart swells when he sees the brightness brimming in the other boy’s eyes, and he’s half-tempted to tell him he loves him right then and there.</p><p class="p3">“You’re a hopeless romantic, aren’t you?” is what comes out of his mouth instead. Tooru just sticks his tongue out at him, very maturely.</p><p class="p3">As per tradition, they get seats right in the very middle of the cinema, and Tooru hogs all the popcorn while Hajime complains. This results in an elbowing contest and some of the popcorn falling onto the floor, and ends, as it always does, with Tooru still hugging the popcorn bucket tightly and Hajime having to lean over the seats to grab some. Hajime wouldn’t have it any other way.</p><p class="p3">The movie itself is actually better than Hajime thought it would be. Sure, it’s predictable and some of the dialogue makes him inwardly cringe, but overall, it’s not bad. The couple, as Hajime had predicted, don’t end up together in the end, the movie displaying an emotional scene that even Hajime can’t help but tear up at.</p><p class="p3">“I was happy,” the alien says, a sad smile on his face. “Thank you for showing me happiness.”</p><p class="p3">“Don’t go<em>.</em>” the human pleads, voice breaking. “<em>I love you</em>.”</p><p class="p3">Beside him, Tooru starts bawling. Rolling his eyes, Hajime hands him a tissue (he knew this would happen, goddammit) and Tooru blows his nose loudly. Discreetly, Hajime dabs at his own face.</p><p class="p3">They come out of the cinema with red-rimmed eyes and an empty popcorn bucket, sniffling every once in a while. Tooru always ends up staying over after they watch a movie, so they make their way back to Hajime’s house side by side.</p><p class="p3">“I can’t believe you were right,” Tooru wails, flailing about on the sidewalk. “They really didn’t end up together.”</p><p class="p3">Hajime hums smugly, and the other boy half-heartedly glares at him.</p><p class="p3">“The dialogue was kind of cheesy sometimes, but they really nailed it with that last scene.” Tooru sighs, dramatically placing a hand over his heart. “I think that really encompassed what their love was all about. Happiness.”</p><p class="p3">Hajime stops, blinks.</p><p class="p3">“Iwa-chan?”</p><p class="p3">“…What do you mean by that?” he starts walking again, trying for a casual tone. Tooru cocks his head.</p><p class="p3">“Huh? Well, I kind of like that he said ‘thank you for the happiness’ instead of ‘I love you,’ because for them, that’s what it was, right?” Tooru furrows his brows a little bit, then nods. “Yeah. For them, love was happiness.”</p><p class="p3">Hajime thinks, and thinks about carrying books for your crush and buying them milk from the vending machine. “Well, if you’re in love, you should be happy, right? Although the way they did it was kind of different from how love is usually portrayed, though.”</p><p class="p3">“Silly Iwa-chan,” Tooru lilts, shaking his head in mock-disappointment. “Love is love! Just because people portray it in a way doesn’t mean that it’s like that for everyone!”</p><p class="p3">“…Yeah, I guess so.” Hajime says, turning it over in his mind. Issei had said something similar. “What’s it like for you, then?”</p><p class="p3">An indescribable look crosses over Tooru’s face. It disappears so quickly that Hajime thinks he might have imagined it, and he’s about to call him out on it when Tooru grins, just a tad bit forced.</p><p class="p3">“Why, it’ll have to be something fancy, of course! Expensive restaurants, roses, diamond rings—ow, Iwa-chan!”</p><p class="p3">Hajime clicks his tongue, removing his hand from where it had smacked Tooru over the head. “So high-maintenance.”</p><p class="p3">As they approach his house, Hajime turns to Tooru, an eyebrow raised in challenge. “Mario Kart?”</p><p class="p3">Tooru grins for real this time, a competitive glint in his eye. “I’ll crush you.”</p><p class="p3">And as they settle on Hajime’s bedroom floor, controllers in hands, whooping and shouting and groaning in annoyance, Hajime thinks he might finally be starting to get it.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>i love him</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>that makes both of us</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>iwaizumi</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>no</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>you don’t even know what i’m gonna say </em>&gt;:0</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>it could be the best idea in the world for all you know</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>i highly doubt it</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>but i know you aren’t going away until i give you the time of day</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>so what do you want</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>how heartfelt</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>confess to oikawa</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>goodbye</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>IWAIZUMI</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>OH MY GOD CAN THEY JUST GET THEIR SHIT TOGETHER PLS</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>WHY</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>?????</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>issei i’m gonna need your help</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>we gotta bring out operation: get iwaizumi and oikawa together already</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>oh</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>do you SEE the looks they give each other???? i think my teeth are rotting at this point</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>…listen hiro i get that they’re absolutely disgusting with their pining but this is them</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>i was serious when i said to let them figure it out themselves</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>they’ve spent their whole lives together, they know each other more than anyone else knows them</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>it’s not our place to get them together when we’ve barely seen like 10% of their relationship</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>and it’s not our place to dictate how they love because we know nothing about it</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>sorry if it sounds harsh but you really need to drop it, hiro</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>…yeah no you’re right</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>i shouldn’t have tried to get involved with what’s them</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>sorry</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">For Hajime, life goes on. He goes to school, goes to volleyball practice, hangs out with Tooru and Takahiro and Issei. He laments with Aliens, facepalms at his friends’ antics, smacks Tooru over the head whenever the other steals his phone to take a million selfies and uses up all his storage. He doesn’t think he’s quite wrapped his head around the entire “what is love” and “how do you love” thing, but maybe he’s getting there.</p><p class="p3">For Hajime, life is good. Life is normal.</p><p class="p3">In hindsight, he should’ve known something like this was bound to happen.</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>i know who you are</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>iwa-chan</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>please open your window</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">It’s nearly 1 AM when Hajime scrambles from his desk where he had been studying and flings open his window. They’ve grown to master the art of crawling out of their bedroom windows and climbing onto the tree in between their houses to throw themselves into the other’s room, and even though they’ve been doing it less and less as they grew older, Hajime’s sure the skill will never fade.</p><p class="p3">And, sure enough, there sits Tooru, his figure framed against the silver glow of the moonlight, looking absolutely ethereal.</p><p class="p3">“Hi, Iwa-chan,” he half-smiles, his voice soft in the dark.</p><p class="p3">Hajime can’t say anything—doesn’t know what to say—so he wordlessly steps aside and lets the other in. His mind is going over and trying to remember everything he’s ever said to Aliens, every confession, every time he’s sent a text over sounding like a jittery schoolgirl. And every time Aliens would send a similar text back.</p><p class="p3"><em>Oh my God</em>, he thinks.</p><p class="p3">And Tooru is looking at him with such a soft look on his face, as if this moment of moonlight and darkness and unspoken truths is all that matters, and suddenly Hajime <em>has</em> to say something. He has to say something grand, something that will make Tooru know exactly how he feels for him—how <em>much</em> he feels for him. He has to let him know.</p><p class="p3">“Do you want to play Mario Kart?” is what he blurts out.</p><p class="p3">And for a second, he curses himself. For a second, he thinks about books and milk and vending machines. For a second, he berates himself for never being able to do this properly—to show love properly—not even when it counts.</p><p class="p3">But then Tooru smiles, that unabashed grin stretching his cheeks until it threatens to split his face wide open, and Hajime remembers. Remembers lazy afternoons of watching the world pass by. Remembers volleyball and video games. Remembers “love is different for everyone.”</p><p class="p3">Remembers an entire <em>life</em>.</p><p class="p3">And, looking at Tooru smile like that—so real, so <em>true</em>—Hajime thinks he finally gets it.</p><p class="p3">So they settle down on the floor of Hajime’s bedroom like they’ve done countless times before, and they start yelling and cussing at 1 AM and they don’t stop until Hajime’s parents come in to see what all the commotion is about. They don’t stop until they’re being scolded for staying up so late, for playing video games when they should be sleeping, and “why is Tooru-kun even here, anyway?” They don’t stop until they’re being ordered to go to bed immediately but all the same, Hajime’s parents don’t even try to tell Tooru to go back to his own house. It doesn’t even cross their minds.</p><p class="p3">Maybe it’s because Hajime’s house <em>is</em> Tooru’s house. Vice versa, too.</p><p class="p3">And the video games stop, but <em>they</em> don’t stop. Not when they set down their controllers, not when Tooru clambers into Hajime’s bed like he’s done time and time again (they never did break out of that sleeping-in-one-bed habit), and definitely not when Tooru whispers an “are we together?” against Hajime’s chest and Hajime responds with a “you fucking dumbass.”</p><p class="p3">And if, in the darkness of the room with the moonlight streaming in through the open window, it just so happens that their lips meet once or twice or a hundred times, well, no one says anything about it.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>so</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>LMAO FINALLY</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>why do i get the ominous feeling that they’re gonna be even more disgusting</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>we’ll just have to stick together in this war field, my dearest</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>o whatever shalt i doth without you, issei</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>takahiro:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>o how i loveth thee</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>i love you too</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>issei:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>o fair, strong hiro</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><em>IWA-CHAN</em> (<span class="s5">づ￣</span> ³<span class="s5">￣</span>)<span class="s5">づ</span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>goodbye</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3"><span class="s5">ヽ</span>(`<span class="s5">⌒</span>´<span class="s5">メ</span>)<span class="s5">ノ</span><em> SO RUDE </em>┌∩┐(<span class="s5">◣</span>_<span class="s5">◢</span>)┌∩┐</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>…did you just flip me off</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>with both hands</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>godzilla4:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>using kaomojis</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>aliensaliens720:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">┌∩┐(<span class="s5">◣</span>_<span class="s5">◢</span>)┌∩┐ <em>AND SO WHAT IF I DID </em>┌∩┐(<span class="s5">◣</span>_<span class="s5">◢</span>)┌∩┐</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <b>• • •</b>
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>hey tooru?</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>yeah?</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>i love you</em>
</p><p class="p6"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>i know</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  <b> <em>tooru:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p3">
  <em>i love you too</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p5">
  <b> <em>hajime:</em> </b>
</p><p class="p5">
  <em>i know</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i hope you enjoyed! comments and kudos are always appreciated :&gt;</p><p>(also hmu on twitter @/toastoast_ if you wanna scream about haikyuu w me lmao)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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